The Changed Tomorrow
by Mariko Azrael
Summary: [Timeranger] Their time with Tatsuya is over. But for them, it's not the end. [spoilers for the entire series]
1. Sion

Disclaimer: Toei's, not mine

Notes: Spoilers for the entire series

--

"Come with me."

"You know that I can't. Domon-san, they're your family--"

"And I want you to meet them!" Domon took his hands eagerly. The grip tightened as his features darkened. "I'm not leaving you with these bastards, not after what they tried to do--"

"Domon-san." He had expected Domon to barge out the doors and back to his family the second the Bureau had given them leave, but the opposite was proving to be true. Ayase had been the first, assisted by a doctor. After a lot of persuasion from both of them, Yuuri had left as well. Whether or not she was going back to her family Sion didn't know, he just hoped that whatever decision she made, it would make her happy. "The Bureau is a mess. Everyone's too busy cleaning up after Ryuuta to even notice that I'm here-- and if they do try something, I'll find you." Gently, he broke away. "But Domon-san, they're your family. They've been missing you for a year. I'm pretty sure the only person they want to see right now is you."

Domon kept sneaking glances at him even as he haltingly made his way to the main entrance. As the doors hissed open, he turned around. "First thing tomorrow morning, I'm coming to take you away from here. That's a promise!"

Sion managed a smile. "I believe you!" He waved until Domon was out of sight.

"... It doesn't make watching you leave hurt any less, though."

--

He wasn't sure how long he had sat there, watching members of the Bureau rush from one scandal to the other, trying to save their skins before the public learned too much. Long enough to lose even the mild interest he'd had, at least. Who would have thought watching one of the most powerful organizations in the Quadrant fall apart would be so boring?

When they'd returned to the year 3000, he'd been ready for another confrontation, but as the middle-aged Commander had explained awkwardly, they didn't have the authority for that anymore. After Tekku had conveniently leaked a video of Ryuuta's final moments to the higher ups in the Bureau (and the media), they were too busy dealing with the sudden resignations and demands for answers from the public to deal with them. Yes, they'd been reprimanded, but that had been it. They hadn't even been discharged. The Bureau had more pressing matters to tend to right now.

_So we're still unimportant._

Sion hugged his knees, trying to force himself to think about something else. Tatsuya and Honami were safe. His friends were finally home. Tekku was being interviewed by every major news feed, there was no way the Bureau could even consider disposing of him now without inviting another investigation. They had saved two centuries, and they would never forget each other. But still... he felt so...

No. He had promised Tatsuya he wouldn't be alone anymore. But right now, surrounded by strangers absorbed in their own problems, he wasn't sure if it was a promise he could keep.

"I need you."

Before he knew what was happening, she had grabbed him, tossing him in the direction of the console on the other side of the room. "You were the smart one on the team, right? Maybe you can fix this."

He was in no mood to help anyone associated with the Bureau, but it had to be better than feeling sorry for himself. Besides, she looked like she could use some help. The problem had infected the entire system, but once he had identified it, he was able to correct it. "There you go. It'll work fine now."

Her face lit up. "Thanks, you have no idea how much grief that's been giving me." Her smiled softened as she pushed a strand of tangled blonde hair from her face. "My name's En-- I mean **Lieutenant** Kara." She gave him a look as she started typing in some data. "They promoted me this morning; can you believe it? I might actually be excited about it if they weren't promoting every warm body that wasn't involved in the Ryuuta scandal. I've been here for almost two years now, and I have never seen things this bad..." Kara smiled again (she seemed to do that a lot), but this time it had a hint of guilt behind it. "I'm sorry, I ramble when I get nervous. So you're Cadet Sion, right? I'll bet that you'll be promoted to Captain by the end of today, what with you probably having the most time travel experience out of all of us right now."

"... I thought we were being discharged."

She laughed, slapping him rather ungently on the back. "Are you kidding?! One of the reasons I needed this console was that I could write letters begging you guys to stay!" Her smile finally faded away. "Ryuuta wasn't alone in his scheming. He had help from every branch of the Bureau. Some wanted power, some thought they were doing what was needed to protect the timeline... but they still betrayed us. Sion, we're facing our biggest crisis since our inception. I... I know your team has had problems with the Bureau, and I won't blame you if you'd rather just leave--"

"Good, because I plan to tomorrow morning."

"But at least consider it!" When Sion took a step away from her, she took one towards him. "If you were willing to risk everything to save 2001, why not stay and make sure the job's done?"

"I can't. Not the way the Bureau would have me, at least." Kara did have a point somewhere in her desperation, but he wouldn't be like Ryuuta, helping only when it suited his purpose, treating the people in that time like numbers in his equations... like he had with Naoto.

"You can change it!" He could tell from her face that she was sincere. "You'll be in a position to make the Bureau what it was supposed to be! You'll be helping people, not playing games with them like Ryuuta did!"

"I'm sorry, but my answer is still no." He started to head back to his place on the steps. Domon would be back in about twelve hours. If he could just keep to himself until then--

"You might see him again."

"... What do you mean?"

Kara gave a huff of frustration as the hair fell back in her face. "I'm not promising anything, but this is still the one place where you can legally time travel. It's still the only place where you have a chance of seeing your friend again."

He had to place a hand against the wall to keep his balance. What she was offering... he might... it wasn't definite, but there was a chance...

He could keep his promise to Tatsuya.

"...Okay. But there will be changes. No more acting like the Bureau's above it all; we're actually going to help people now."

She grinned at him one more time, giving his hand a through shake. "**Lieutenant** Sion, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship."


	2. Ayase

Disclaimer: Toei's, not mine

Notes: I am so sorry about taking so long with this. Inbetween school and mental blocks, this fic is taking much longer than it should be. The fact that Ayase is the character I have the most trouble writing for doesn't help much, either.

--

Ayase awoke to the sounds of footfalls. Upon opening his eyes, he saw the nurse who had been with him since he first came to the hospital beaming down at him. "Good to see you're finally awake," she chirped as she started going over some data. "You had everyone here worried since your disease had progressed so far, but you pulled through." She placed a bottle of pills on his nightstand. "Keep in mind, you're not out of the woods yet. You'll need to take one of these two times a day for the next week. You might experience some side effects like drowsiness or dizziness, so I want you to call me or Doctor Fujiyama if that happens, okay?"

He nodded, committing her instructions to memory. The whole thing was still too surreal for him to do anything else. He had become so accustomed to the idea of only having a couple of years (at the most) left, it had begun to feel like it had always been that way for him. But then… things started to change. He had met Tatsuya. Tatsuya, who could have just sat back and let his father plan out a perfectly comfortable life for him… but he had refused. He had fought for a chance to live his own life, even if the change could only be seen tomorrow morning, and without even trying had made Ayase realize that even if fate had been decided for him, in the present day his life was still his own.

But now Tatsuya was gone. He was cured. He had his life back… and no idea what to do next.

"… I said, do you want some water?" The nurse's brow furrowed in concern.

"Yes, please." He watched silently as she filled the bottle. "I'm sorry. It's just… a lot to process."

She smiled over her shoulder. "Don't feel bad. I'm so used to telling patients they only have so much time left that you're a nice change of pace." She returned to his side and placed the water next to the medicine. "But next time tell someone if you're having chest pains instead to taking it like a man or whatever. Pride is what does boys your age in."

"Don't worry, I've learned my lesson." He was surprised by how easily the lie came out. After taking a sip, he started to lie down again (but not to sleep; he had a sneaking suspicion Tatsuya would be waiting there for him in his dreams), when he heard the nurse say something about how it was the first time they had a cure before the disease was even discovered.

He bolted up. "What did you say?"

She blinked, obviously surprised by his sudden energy, but answered his question. "You know Asami-T'grell Corp? Intergalactic business, dabble in pretty much everything if it's profitable? Well, thanks to some research done a few centuries ago, they had a cure for your disease just as it started hitting the populace. It made a lot of doctors very rich, let me tell you. The nurses not so much, but what else is new…"

Ayase cut her off. "I don't suppose you know when they started the research?" There was no way she could know, it had been a millennia ago--

She stroked her chin. "Don't quite me on this, but… 2020, I think? Maybe 2030? Sometime around then, I know that much."

He fell back on the pillows. Tatsuya… he had done it. He had really done it.

As the door hissed shut behind the nurse, Ayase looked out his window. The sun was rising. He appreciated the beauty and the promise behind it as he had before, but this time for an entirely different reason.

He had the entire day… his entire life ahead of him. And like Tatsuya, he would make the most out of every day, because changing one day could change fate.


	3. Yuuri

Disclaimer: Toei's, not mine

Notes: Spoilers for the entire series. And let's all hope I got the honorifics right.

--

"You don't have to do this alone," Ayase reminded her one last time as he parked the vehicle.

"That's right," Sion piped up from the back seat. "We could go with you, or I could call them and say that the Bureau decided that we needed you to fill out some more forms before you can visit, or--"

"I'll be fine." Yuuri stood up as the door shut behind her. It wasn't that she didn't understand (or didn't appreciate) what they were trying to do, but this was something she was going to have to do by herself.

Before she could leave, she felt someone grab her wrist. Turning around, she saw it was Domon.

He smiled uneasily, letting go so he could scratch the back of his head. "Listen, Yuuri... I kind of went through a less extreme version of what you're going through right now, so trust me," he said as his features grew serious, "they may not be how you remember them, but they still care about you. Nothing can change that."

This time she smiled. "I know." She turned away again; feeling a little less... whatever she was feeling right now than she had on the ride there.

"Don't forget, we're coming to pick you up at six!"

"Right, and then we're going out to dinner!"

"Are you sure you want to walk the rest of the way? Because I don't mind driving a little further..."

Since her back was turned to them, Yuuri figured it was safe to roll her eyes. Apparently, not only was her family still alive in this timeline, she also had three overprotective brothers.

--

It wasn't until she was standing at the front door that Yuuri was fully aware of how absurd she was being. This had been her home all her life, after all. If she could have returned to it every night after her family was killed, why couldn't she now?

... Okay, that had been a stupid question. But the fact that she had been avoiding this in the past month since they had returned remained.

She probably would have put if off even longer if it weren't for whom she had been rooming with while she tried to pretend her family wasn't alive and well and waiting for her to come home: Sion. He had never said anything, of course. She doubted that it had even crossed his mind (especially since the Bureau was trying to kill him with paperwork ever since he accepted their offer of a promotion), but over time it had become painfully clear to her the sheer hypocrisy of hiding from her once again happy family with the one member of their team who, even after changing the future twice, had no one waiting for him in this century.

So Yuuri had worked up her nerve, asked Ayase for a ride, and here she was. All she had to do now was let them know she was home.

And hope that she wasn't too different from the Yuuri they had been waiting for all this time.

Without warning the door swung open. "I'm just going out for a few things--" The middle-aged woman stopped in mid-sentence, eyes wide. Yuuri had no doubt her expression was the same. It had been years, but it was obvious who she was.

"... Kaa-san?"

"Yuuri!" She was trapped in a bone-crushing hug as the older woman swung her around. Somewhere in it all, she could hear her mother gush about how it was **so** good to see her, and everyone had missed her **so** much, but now she was back and everything was all right now and Mei would be home from class in an hour and wouldn't she be surprised to see her older sister, and now that she noticed, her long lost baby girl was looking a little pained, would she like to come inside and have some water?

Finally, Yuuri managed to squirm free. "That sounds like a good idea. Thank you, Kaa-san." She remembered that her mother had always been full of energy. When she was little, she had taken delight in the fact that while other parents would collapse on nearby benches while their children played, her mother was never too tired to play with her. Now, she wasn't quite sure how to handle it.

_Well, she can't be any worse than Domon, _she reminded herself as she let her mother lead her inside.

--

So far, things were going as well as she could have expected. After impromptu embraces from her father and Mei (she had a sneaking suspicion that their Yuuri had been more touchy-feely than she was), they had all sat down for lunch, which had given Yuuri a chance to take in her surroundings. It was the same house... but it felt different. Crowded, almost. That, she mused as she sipped her tea, was because there were more people with more things living here now.

She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about that... or even the people she was having lunch with. They were nice, and honestly seemed to care about her, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake off the feeling that they were just pleasant strangers who just happened look like her parents and sister would have, if they had lived to be their ages.

_If Tatsuya could turn strangers into family, why can't you?_

Yuuri closed her eyes, head resting in her hand. As if she didn't have enough regrets today...

"Nee-san?"

She looked up, and felt a twinge of guilt as her younger sister (who was now roughly Sion's age) gazed on in concern. "Are you all right? You look a little pale."

"I'm fine. I guess I was more homesick than I thought."

Mei's smile was eerily similar to the one Yuuri remembered. "Then maybe after lunch we could go take a look at your room? We probably won't be able to find anything after a year's worth of dust has settled, but it's worth a shot, right?"

"... Sure. Why not?" She hoped Mei hadn't noticed the hint of nervousness in her voice. However, judging by the worry filling her sister's eyes, she had.

Yuuri was wondering if there was anything she could do to stop Mei from worrying when her father stood up. "Well, I have to get back to work."

Her mother's face fell. "What?! But Yuuri just got home!"

He chuckled nervously. "I know, but this is the case we've been working on for nearly a year. And I'll be back as soon as they let me, really."

"But what about--"

"It's okay, Tou-san. It's not like any of us are going anywhere soon, right?"

He grinned broadly at her. "I knew you'd understand, Yuuri!" Before he left, however, he leaned down.

"I'm glad you're finally home," he whispered in her ear. And with that, he was gone.

Yuuri knew her mother wasn't exactly thrilled with the situation, but as he watched him leave, she felt... something familiar. Her father had always taken his work seriously, and seeing that he still did was physical proof that some things simply did not change.

It was... reassuring. To an extent.

"You ready, Nee-san?" When she saw Mei's face again-- an almost pitiable attempt to look happy, Yuuri could feel even that little bit of reassurance melt away.

--

Even while growing up, Yuuri had never spent much time in her bedroom. She had usually opted for the couch after a long night of studying, or later on in her life, work. But even if she took that into mind, she didn't remember having so many... things. The Yuuri of this time obviously had done a lot of collecting.

"Something on your mind, Nee-san?" Mei was sitting on the bed, trying to get her to open up again. This Mei was every bit as nosy as the one she had grown up with.

"Oh, nothing... say, I own a lot of albums, don't I?"

Mei perked up a little. "Well, yeah. Remember back when you were planning to be a big rock star and... you don't, do you?"

There was nothing to be gained by pretending otherwise. "No. I'm sorry."

Making no attempt to look happy now, Mei picked up one of the myriad albums, staring intently at its cover as she spoke. "The... the Bureau said that because of changing the future, you might not remember everything. That you might have a memory that we don't, or vice-versa... but to forget something that was so much a part of you..."

Finally, Mei looked at her again. "It's more than that, isn't it? Something happened to you. Something big."

"Mei..." Yuuri balled her hands into fists. She couldn't even think about... him without flinching, how could she even begin to--

"You don't have to tell me anything."

"What?"

Mei stood up, smoothing out the blankets. "It's taken you a month just to come home, Nee-san. I figure something must've happened if you were so..." Mei paused and grimaced. "I don't want to say you were afraid, since that's something I can never imagine you being. I guess the word I'm looking for is 'reluctant.'"

"...That sounds about right."

Yuuri had looked away at this point, so the only way she knew that Mei was behind her was the gentle hand on her shoulder. "But just know that we're here for you. I'm here for you."

She was silent for a moment, trying to think of a proper way to phrase her feelings. Then, finally, she wiped off the dust on an album lying on her dresser as an idea hit her. "I really don't remember owning any of these... so I was hoping maybe tomorrow we could listen to them together?"

Mei smiled at her, but this time the familiarity behind it was more reassuring than anything else Yuuri could remember.


	4. Domon

Disclaimer: Not mine

Notes: Spoilers for the series and for Stages 23-24 of Mahou Sentai Magiranger

--

The restaurant was by no means disrespectable. The building was kept clean, the food was edible, and the local law enforcement had never had to pay a visit. This, however, did not necessarily mean that the patrons-- and there were more than enough to keep the owners in business-- came there to relax. Far from it.

The establishment's location undoubtedly had a hand in this: it was near the outskirts of the city and far away from any type of real civilization (which, on a planet as industrialized as Earth, was an admirable feat). It was the place people went when they didn't want to be worried over by their loved ones, when they wanted to think only of themselves, when they simply wished to wallow in their own misery.

And that, Domon mused as he took a gulp of his drink, was probably why he had become a regular.

There... there had been a part of him foolish enough to believe it. That he had known from the beginning that what he had with Honami couldn't last forever. That he should enjoy the moment while it lasted, and accept it when it was over.

That he could live the rest of his life without her.

_At least I know she's safe, right? _It had been the last thing he had asked of Tatsuya, and Domon knew that he would do just that. He would be there for her when he couldn't, keep her safe and make her smile... and later, once they realized they were never coming back after all, maybe they would...

The idea of Tatsuya and Honami together didn't make him angry... or even that sad. If anything, he would be relieved to know that they weren't waiting for them anymore.

Domon wasn't exactly sure if that train of thought was healthy. But he did know it wasn't any healthier than the idea of the man who had become his friend and the woman he had loved wasting their lives away over something no one could change anymore.

"Excuse me... are you Pro Fighter Domon-san? I'm a big fan of yours; could I get an autograph?"

Someone had recognized him **here**? Well, a fan was a fan. Managing a grin, he turned around. "Do you have a--"

Sion was grinning back at him.

There would have been a time when the idea of grabbing his best friend in his arms in public would have been too awkward for Domon to even attempt. Things had changed. "Sion!" He hugged him tighter, the pure joy in knowing that Sion was there washing over him. "How're you doing, I'm so glad to see you, when **was** the last time I saw you?" Domon knew he was probably talking too quickly to be understood, but he was too happy to care.

Laughing lightly, Sion pulled away and took a seat next to him. "I think it was when we dropped Yuuri off at her home, so it would have been a month."

As depressing as it was, a month sounded about right. It wasn't like Domon was **trying **to avoid him, but in between matches and meetings at the Time Bureau (why Sion out of all them had decided to keep working at that damned place was beyond him, but he had known Sion long enough to know that he had his reasons, even if he wasn't willing to share what they were), neither of them really had time for each other anymore. That was why seeing Sion right behind him without warning had been such a rush to his system... and, he realized as he took a look around, had earned him more than a few dirty stares from the customers who had come to brood in peace.

"Heh. They don't like it here if you talk too loud-- or at all. Why don't we find someplace a little more friendly?"

Sion nodded, slid off his seat, and made his way for the door. "I know just the place."

--

He had been following Sion blindly ever since they first left the restaurant, so he didn't notice that they were at the beach until the waves sloshed against his ankles. Sighing in frustration, he scurried away from the tide as quickly as he could in his now soaked shoes. Luckily, Sion seemed to have decided to stop for now, sitting on one of the larger rocks. Domon plopped down next to him, taking the opportunity to remove his shoes as he did so.

"I saw your last fight." Sion was smiling like he had when he'd surprised him, but Domon saw the hint of nervousness that had crept in. "The experts are saying that's the fastest time someone's KO-ed their opponent in the sport's history."

Domon smirked, punching the air. It **was** pretty impressive. "Of course. What else would you expect from the best?"

He felt Sion nudge his shoulder. "And the gossipers are still going on about how you haven't even gone on a date since your suspension was over. They're starting to wonder if you found someone during your year off."

"That's probably because I did."

The second Sion's face fell, Domon tried to think of something, **anything** else to talk about. It was bad enough that he couldn't get over it, he didn't need Sion feeling guilty as well. "So, uh, how're things at the Bureau?"

"Busy." Sion looked out to the sea. "We've been working more on our policing aspects-- weapons, escalation, things like that. And of course, we're still trying to earn back the public's trust."

The Pro Fighter felt a pang of sympathy for his friend. "You'd think the fact that one of the people they tried to mind wipe was just promoted to Commander would help a little."

Sion frowned, keeping his eyes on the ocean. "Not when you consider we're not done rooting out the corruption yet. I have some people I trust fully-- Kara, a few other officers-- but Ryuuta's influence was so complete, I'm not sure we'll ever be able to remove all of his supporters."

"Would it be easier if you had one more person you could trust fully there?"

For the first since they came to the beach, Sion looked at him. **Really** looked at him, not the nervous glances he'd received when they were talking about his match. "I'm not asking anything of you, Domon-san."

"Why not? There's nothing wrong with wanting help from a friend." Feeling at a loss, Domon ran a hand through his hair, suddenly wishing he had his old hat back so he would have something to throw. "Sion, I'll be honest with you. Returning to Pro Fighting hasn't been what I thought it'd be, and I really do want to help, but I don't know if--"

"I've also been doing some research on separate incidents of time travel." Sion wasn't smiling, but he wasn't looking away, either. "Turns out there was a lot done in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. For example, one individual was able to almost magically change the flow of time, causing numerous--"

Thoroughly confused now, Domon cut him off. "What are you trying to say?"

"What I'm saying is that soon we'll need people to go back and monitor the timeline because of these incidents. And that it would be easier if we had people who'd been there before to do the job."

He must've noticed that Domon's attention had turned to the waves because he could hear him start again. "But I'm not trying to force you or play on your emotions. It's your choice."

"I know. It's just... when you look out there, it's like you finally realize how big everything else is compared to yourself as a person. You start wondering if you can change anything."

"Domon-san..."

"But I'm done wondering. I'll see you at work tomorrow."

Sion bounced up, the grin on his face almost as bright as the future he was promising him. After a quick explanation of the forms he'd have to fill out to be re-accepted he said good-bye, explaining that he had one last meeting for the day, but he was already looking forward to helping him with the paperwork first thing in the morning.

And then he was gone, leaving Domon alone with the ocean.

--

Final Notes: I'm finally done. I'm sorry this took so long, but due to personal issues I'm afraid I haven't had much time to devote to this story (or any of my other stories, really). I do have a sequel to this planned out, but it would be slash (and if you even read the summary for any of my Time fics, you know which pairing), and the actual plot is still in the brain storming stages. So I guess it depends on if other people want to see it and if I feel like doing it. Anyways, thanks for reading, and feel free to ask if you have any questions.


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